Will there be a 23 Jump Street?

❘ Published: 2023-05-04T13:26:34

Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum in 21 Jump Street

Sony Pictures

Is there going to be a 23 Jump Street? Following the success of 21 Jump Street and 22 Jump Street, fans might be wondering: will Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill team up for a third movie?

21 Jump Street felt like everything and everyone came together at exactly the right time. It starred Hill after his first Oscar nomination for Moneyball and showcased Tatum’s comedic chops, altogether grossing more than $200 million worldwide.

The movie spawned a blockbuster sequel, 22 Jump Street, grossing over $330 million and the origin of two huge movie memes: Schmidt’s faux-slam poetry, and “My name is Jeff.”

So, what’s going on with 23 Jump Street, and will it ever happen?

Is 23 Jump Street happening?

Sadly, no – 23 Jump Street is pretty much dead, despite an incredible idea and years-long efforts to get it off the ground.

While the end credits of 22 Jump Street poke fun at several fictional sequels, including 24 Jump Street: Foreign Exchange and 40 Jump Street: The Retirement Home, the real 23 Jump Street was confirmed by Deadline in 2014, with Rodney Rothman penning the script.

Soon after though, Tatum cast doubt on his participation. “I feel like that would be a cop-out. College was the obvious next step for us. We had to go there. I don’t know what the next step is after college. Do we go and take down Enron? Or the government in DC? I feel like it’s all redundant,” he said, as per The Hollywood Reporter.

“The big running joke of the second movie is this is just going to be bigger… than the first time. I don’t know if that joke works three times, so we’ll see.”

By the end of 2014, a Sony hack revealed a jaw-dropping twist: the studio was planning a crossover between Men in Black and the Jump Street franchise, titled MIB 23. James Bobin was tapped to direct, Tatum and Hill were down to return, but neither Will Smith nor Tommy Lee Jones would have reprised their roles.

Still mourning the insane MEN IN BLACK/21 JUMP STREET film we could have had…@philiplord @chrizmillr pic.twitter.com/nzT9Ue3gq5
— Josh Horowitz (@joshuahorowitz) February 5, 2022

So what happened? During an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Phil Lord explained: “It’s true that there have been a lot of these things developed.

“There was, believe it or not, a Men in Black/Jump Street crossover script that was very funny and very crazy that we really adored.

“Basically, the idea was Jonah and Channing, a thing happened while they were doing their medical school adventure that got them embroiled into the world of Men in Black and that got them teaming up to stop an alien takeover type of thing.

Alas, it became too “crazy trying to manage these two franchises”, especially with the risk of “driving these two franchises into the ground.”

Hill also said “it almost became what we were making fun of”, so it’s unlikely we’ll ever see the sequel.

That’s everything we know about 23 Jump Street. In the meantime, check out our other TV & movie hubs below: